She built a career working with wellness brands, but suffered major burnouts

For public relations maestro Lynda Williams, work is about feel-good. After all, before launching her PR firm Vim & Vigor in 2013, she worked in-house for Aman and Como Hotels and Resorts, both known for their bespoke wellness experiences.

At Vim & Vigor, she has also represented brands in the wellness industry, including GuavaPass, Balinese wellness center Revivo and currently, Yoga Movement and Balanced Living. In 2020, she also launched wellness-focused digital platform The Soothe and is a practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).

How has your work made you aware of the importance of personal well-being?

Running a full-fledged business, especially in the beginning, my health suffered tremendously. During the first three years, I had two big burnouts and I was forced to review my health and my way of life.

What does your mindfulness practice look like these days?

Exercise has always been essential for my mental health and I do it before the day gets too crazy. I also often practice breathing, meditation and mindfulness. Breathing is scientifically proven to calm the nervous system and is very effective during times of stress.

Mindfulness has been extremely helpful during the pandemic. I believe in working on the things you can control and not stressing over the things you can’t – learn to work with them instead.

What prompted you to launch The Soothe?

We felt there was a real need for an informative, honest and bold resource for wellness in Singapore. We want to empower people to take control of their own health with the right tools and resources. I also believe in the well-being of our communities and environment, so we made sure to include plenty of content about culture, connection, relationships, and green living as well.

How do you spread the word in your workplace?

We talk openly about mental health, it’s not a taboo subject. Earlier this year, I decided to extend medical benefits to cover seeing a mental health professional. The team knows that I see a mindfulness coach and have seen therapists and counselors in the past – we need to normalize this.

Fostering a positive work environment is really important – a safe environment where people can be themselves and not be afraid to speak up. We’ve gone the extra mile to engage the team this year and have split teams into the office to engage, get out of the house, and connect safely.

Share one of your favorite NLP techniques that can be used to improve workplace well-being.

Learn to change your mindset. If you tend to be anxious or overwhelmed, pre-create an anchor to pull yourself through, through things like specific music tracks, breathing techniques, or an actual physical anchor to change your state from languid to motivated, anxious to calm, sad to happy. They are so convenient and get you into a more balanced state of mind in minutes.